Cabinet air-conditioner



Dec. '8, 1936;

F. A: WHITELEY CABINET AIR CONDITIONER .3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Jan. 9, 1933 Inventor:

j MAM F/T WhifeLe, B MAZZL,

My H tter-r169 Dec. 8, 1936. F. A. WHITELEY CABINET AIR CONDITIONER Originai Filed Jan. 9, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 i I Iriventor-z E" A. Whitele ttor-neu s,

Patented Dec. 8, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application January 9,

1933, Serial No. 650,773

Renewed August 8, 1935 14 Claims.

My invention relates to cabinet air-conditioners, and has for its object to condition air in enclosed spaces, such for example as in a chamber formed above and in connection with the mattress of the bed or in a single room.

This application is in many respects a con-- tinuation of application Serial Number 624,469, flied on July 25, 1932 now Patent 1,971,631 dated Aug. 28, 1934.

It is the object of my invention to provide -within a cabinet, either portable or built into the wall of a house, self-contained meanstherein for moving air through a tortuous passage formed within the cabinet and for providing. a

conditioned.

It is a further object of my invention to provide within the cabinet a tank for the water with improved means for easily filling said tank and also with means for permitting air to enter the tank noiselessly as water is withdrawn therefrom, It is a further object of my invention to provide novel means for delivering the air to the room or chamber to provide a novel arrangement of pump and blower operated by a single motor, to provide means for delivering both a coarse and a fine spray, to provide thermostatic mea.ns for regulating thetemperature of the air as delivered, and to provide novel forms of sombbers or devices for removing free water from the air before its delivery.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof, and its novel features are particularly pointed out in the claims In the drawings, illustrating preferred applications of my invention,

Fig. 1 illustrates a sectional elevation of the cabinet air-conditioner as applied to a bed. Fig. 2 is a perspective detail showing a means of withdrawing the spraying member for cleaning thespray nozzles. Fig. 3 is a detail plan view of the top of the water supply tank. Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on line 55 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6

spray of water in most parts of said passage the air-cooling chamber applied thereto. Fig. 7

is a transverse sectional view on line l-I of Fig. 1.. Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 8-8 of Fig. I viewed in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air-condition- 5 ing cabinet adapted for use in a room independently of a bed. Fig. 10 is a sectional View on line 0-40 of Fig. 9 viewed in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 11 is a sectional view on line H of Fig.

9 viewed in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 12 10 is a fragmentary plan view of the secondary bottom wall of the cabinet shown in Fig. 9, on line |2-I2 of Fig. 9.

A casing of considerable height, width and length, in practice about the length of a stand- 5 ard mattress, has the top wall l0, outside end walls II and. I2, side walls i3 and i l and a sloping bottom wall l5 which discharges at its lower end into a well or sump I6. Upon the bottom wall l5 rests a heat exchange member ll connected by means of pipes I8, 19 with a refrigerating compressor indicated diagrammatically at 20 which may be located in an attic room, basement or other convenient place, the pipes I8, l9 passing to it through a parti- 25 tion wall as indicated at 2| in Fig. 1. The member lT'will in practice comprise a cast tube 22, Fig.7, with fin plates 23 integrally cast therewith and adapted to rest upon the bottom i5 but cut away as indicated at 24 to provide a con- 30 tinuous channel down the bottom wall i5 for permitting the water falling from sprayers after it has passed over the fins 23 and the body 22 of the refrigerating member to run down said bottom wall l5 and discharge into the water chamber 25 of the well i6. Partition members 26 are attached to or in contact with top wall ill of Fig. 9 or a horizontal partition 21 forming a passageway 28 between it and top member ID,

' as in Fig. 1. Other partition members 29 are secured to upstanding fin members 30 on the refrigerating member H, as shown in Figs. 1, '7,

and 9. As indicated at 3i, the partition members 26 stop short of the refrigerating'member l1 so as to leave passages under them, and the partition members 29 correspondingly fall short of reaching the top member Ill or the horizon- ,tal partition member 21, as indicated at 32 in Figs. 1 and 9, whereby an elongated tortuous passageway 33, as in Fig. 1, and 34 as in Fig. 9, is provided. At an end of the cabinet, next to the end wall I 2, and between it anda Vertical partition 35 is formed a chamber 36in the bottom of which is the reservoir 25 for water. above this reservoir and supported by a partiis adapted to be opened or closed by a hand valve 42 of any well-known construction. Upon the top 43 of tank 38 is secured, by welding or of its sealed connection with the top of the tank.

other suitable means, a casting which contains a bore 45 opening downwardly through a port 46 through top 43 and into tank 38. The

casting extends through wall I2 and has formed thereon a funnel-like receiver 41. A valve seat 48 (Fig. 4) is provided adjacent the port 46 adapted to be closed by a milled valve member 49 which is operated by a screw-threaded valve stem 50 extending outside of the wall I2. An ordinary water gauge 5| is provided outside of the wall I2 and has connection with the tank 38 near its top and bottom, respectively. By these means, when it is desired to refill the tank, as indicated by gauge 5|, valve 42 is closed. Valve 49, 50 is opened and water is run in to funnel receiver 41 preferably from a hose extended from an adjacent faucet. When the tank is filled valve 49, 50 is closed and valve 42 opened, whereupon Water may be supplied from the tank to the well 25 as fast asair is admitted to the interior of said tank.

To provide for admitting this air rapidly, and without noise, I arrange a tube 52 of small bore alongside of the inner side wall of tank 38 and carry said tube over and through top wall 43, as indicated at 53 in Figs. 3 and 5.

-The tube discharges upon a plate receiver 54 spaced as indicated at 55 (Fig. 5) from the top 43. plate 54 may extend across an inside upper corner of tank 38, and the depending nozzle 53 is substantially in contact with the plate 54 which is provided with a multiplicity of apertures 56 next to the two walls of the corner 51 of the tank where the plate 54 is located. The lower end 58 of tube 52 extends-to the water-line 4| in reservoir 25, as shown in Fig. 11. When from use of water the line drops below the end 58, air will be forced through tube 52, pushing the small column of water in said tube ahead of it, which will be discharged against the plate 54 at the corner 51 of tank 38 and. run noiselessly down the walls of said tank the column of water will extend in tube 52 to the level of the water in tank 38 by reason of the pressure of air upon the surface 4| of water in sump I6 and its tendency to form vacuum at the top of the tank communicated to the tube 52 by reason The air supplied through tube 52 will escape through opening 55. Water will flow from the tank into reservoir 25 until the waterline 4| is brought above the end of tube 58. In this way water will be supplied as required from the tank 38 without any noise of bubbling or drippins, or, in fact, any noise whatever.

' Upon a suitable shelf support 59. in a chamber 68 in the upper part of the cabinet is located a blower GI and a compressor pump 62. A motor 93 operates the blower and compressor at relatively slow speeds by means of pulleys 64 on the motor and belt-connected pulleys 65 and 66 on the blower and the pump, respectively. In the form of Fig. 1, the air is drawn from the room through a grill 61 and the blower discharges through a partition 68 intopassageway 28 andfrom thence through tortuous passageway 33 and up through the scrubber formed by a As indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, the

multiplicity of zigzag plates 69 and through port opening 10 into the chamber II above the bed, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 6.

In the form shown in Fig. 9, the blower discharges through a conduit 12 directly into tortuous passage 34 and moves the air in the opposite direction through scrubber 69 and to the last leg of tortuous passage 34, from where it is delivered to bottom passageway 13 under sloping bottom wall I5 and above a second bottom wall I4, which is formed with a multiplicity of centrally-disposed openings I5, as clearly shown in Fig. 12. Directly below the opening 15 in wall I4 is a removable pan I6 adapted to be drawn out through an opening 11 in the end of the cabinet normally closed by a door 18. The passageway I9 between the pan I6 and the bottom partition 14 communicates with the room through a multiplicity of ornamental openings 80, 8| in the two side walls I3 and I4, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, whereby the conditioned, cooled air will be blown from the cabinet in a distributed manner close to the floor.

The pump 62 has its inlet pipe 82 dip into the water of well 25 within a strainer member provided with a removable cover 83. The water in the reservoir 25 may be drained therefrom by means of cook 84, and access to the reservoir 25 is had through door 85 hinged to end wall I2, as shown in Fig. 9, by which means the accumulated dirt in reservoir 25 may be removed and fresh strainer cloths put in position about the water inlet pipe 82. From the pump 62 the outlet pipe 82' extends through the upper parts of tortuous chamber 33 or 34, as shown in Figs. 1 and 9, and. is formed with spray nozzles 86 adapted to deliver a fine spray, and spray nozzles 81 adapted to deliver a coarse spray, there being one of each type of nozzle over each of the legs (except the two air-delivery end ones of both of the forms shown in Fig. 1 and also in Fig. 9). In the form of Fig. 9, the first two of the legs of tortuous passageway 34 are reached by branch pipes 88 and 89 respectively.

As shown, particularly in Figs. 1 and '7, in the form shown in Fig. 1, I mount the'spray pipe 90 (a continuation of delivery pipe' 82) upon a plate 9| adapted to be bolted into a recess 92 on the back of the cabinet. A union nut 93 connects the pipe 82' with the spray pipe 90, and by loosening up the union nut through door 94 on top of the cabinet and taking out screws 95 by means of which'the plate 9| is secured in position, the spray pipe may be withdrawn for cleaning. In a similar manner, the main part of the spray pipe 96 may be withdrawn from the form of cabinet shown in Fig. 9 through the top of said cabinet.

As shown in Figs. 6 and. 7, the form of cabinet of Fig. 1 is adapted to be used directly with a bed and the mattress thereof as a bed air-conditioner. In this form, legs 91 give a lateral support for top wall 98, end walls 99 and I00 and a front wall 'IUI which supports a pair of doors I02, I93, as shown in Fig. 6, which are adapted to swing outwardly to admit to the inside of fullwidthofv the bed for a substantial width of opening, of say sixteen or. eighteen inches. From said opening the top wall slopes downwardly as indicated at H0 ,and carries a flexible cloth partition Ill immediately adjacent the airinlet aperture 10, so that the coldconditioned air coming inmust flow through the mattresswide opening I l2,below the flexible partition II I adjacent the bed and the warmer air will be pushed and gravitated out throughopening I09. A switch H3 close to.the head of the sleeper is adapted to turn the motor 63 on or off. A second switch IM through suitable connections willconnect or disconnect the compressor. which is also controlled by automatic thermostatic means of well-known construction to prevent the temperature within the chamber H5 of the casting member 22 from going below a predetermined point. This chamber is filled with some suitable conducting fluid sealed within the chamber, which includes a multiplicity of coils H6 of tubing carrying refrigerating fluid from compressor 20, by means of, which the casting IT posed to the currents or air, produces an enormous aggregate surface. And in applicantsmvention the water is simply and efficiently cooled by reason of the fact that the sprayfilms over a refrigerating heat exchangev member and yields its'hea't taken from the air to that member before returning to the water reservoir,

' cooled to approximately the temperature at which the refrigerating member is maintained, which may be around F. Furthermore, in the form of the device shown in Figure 9; the

cooled air passes under the sloping drain board,

so that whatever loss of heat there -may' be from the water afterit has been cooled by therefrigeratingmember will go to the air, which will be delivered at the floor level, where it,

should be, preventing unpleasant currents and drafts and causing the cooled air to mix graduand fin plates 23 are suitably cooled. Within the final scrubber leg passage of thetortuous passage 33 of the construction of Fig. 1, and vjust below. air-discharge opening 10, is located an electric heater Ill, which is automatically controlled by a thermostat N8 of well-known construction indicated diagrammatically in Fig.

'6, which heater will be automatically-put in,

operation whenever the temperature within the chamber 1| falls below a predeterminedpoint.

It will be understood that in the form of Fig.. 1 it,will frequently be unnecessary to employ r the refrigerating member II, as sufficient reducspray alone.

pensive and has required, for cabinet air-0on ditioners, an extremely bulky and cnmbersome tion of temperature will be produced ,by the Further, when' the device is used in cool weather or in winter, weather, and the conditioning of "the air by removal of, dust and germs 'through the spray is desirable but too much cooling might result, the electric heater will suificiently temper the otherwise conditioned air.

The. operation and advantages of my inven= advantageous.

tion as above set forth are effective and highly The difliculty in economically cooling air comes from the factthat heat exchange surfaces for that purpose must be ata temperature materially higher than freezing point, asv otherwise they'would simply frost over and no lower temperature could be obtained anyway. Practical working heat exchange temperatures cannot be much below 40 F. That means that the difference in temperature between the air to be cooled (between -'70 and in a. properly conditioned room) and the heat exchange surface is 'not great. Consequently, a very large amount of heat exchange surface is necessary in order to cool any considerable amount of air, sharply distinguished from heat-conditioning, where the difference in temperature between the heat exally with the warmer air and progressively build up an area of cooled air from the floor toward the ceiling.

In the form of the device shown in Fig. 1,

which is adapted to be employed in connection time get the benefits of washing and freeing the airfrom dust and germs, which comprisesan,important feature of the invention.

I claim:

1.An air-conditioner comprising a cabinet embodying a plurality of vertical partitions, forming a series of connected up and down passageways which in their entirety make an elongated tortuous passageway, means to move air through said passageway and discharge it from the cabinet, means in the cabinet to circulate water therein and'form a spray descending from the tppto the bottom'of the several vertical portions of said passageway, and arefrigerating member extending along the bottoms of said portions, "said refrigerating member comchangesurface and the air is ordinarily several hundred degrees.

Mechanicalmeans for obtaining; the, large heat exchange surface necessary has proved excabinet. In the presentinvention this is obvi:

ated by the simple and eflicient expedient of making a spray of water in the elongated, tortuous air passageway furnish the heat-exchange I surface. Such a spray, with literally millions of tiny-globules of water having their surface ex:

prising a cast metal body with the tubes for conveying refrigerating fluid entirely sealedwithin said body.

2. An air-conditionercomprising a cabinet embodying a plurality of vertical partitions,

forming a series of connected up and down passageways which in theirentirety make an elongated tortuous passageway, means to move air through said passageway and discharge it from the cabinet, means in the cabinet to circulate water thereimand form a spray descending from the top to the bottom of the several vertical portionsof said passageway, and a refrigerating member extending along the bottoms of said portions, said refrigerating member comprising a hollowv cast body with a. multiplicity of surrounding fins'and having the" tubes for carrying the refrigerating chamber in said body. 3. In an air-conditioner embodying a cabinet and means for forming a water spray within the cabinet including a pump and a reservoir, a tank for supplying water to the reservoir having a fluid sealed within the discharge nozzl'e dipping substantially below the waterline therein, and a tube having its lower end within the reservoir at said waterline and its upper end discharging into the tank to admit air into the tank and permit water to flow therefrom into the reservoir when said waterline drops below the lower end of the tube.

4. In an air-conditioner embodying a cabinet and means for forming a water spray within the cabinet including a pump and a reservoir, a tank for supplying water to the reservoir having a. discharge nozzle dipping substantially below the waterline-therein, and a tube outside of the tank and independent of the nozzle having its lower end at said waterline and its upper end projected into the tank at the top thereof for admitting air into the tank and permitting water to flow therefrom into the reservoir when said Waterline drops below the lower end of the tube.

5. In an air-conditioner embodying a cabinet and means for forming a water spray within the cabinet including a pump and a reservoir, a tank for supplying water to the reservoir having a discharge nozzle dipping substantially below the waterline therein, a tube having its lower end at said waterline and its upper end discharging downwardly within said tank, and a plate at the discharge end of said tube for directing the water therefrom against. a wall of the tank whereby when said waterline falls below the lower end of the tube-air will be admitted noiselessly intothe upper part of the tank whenever the said waterline fallsbelow the lower end of the tube.

6. In an air-conditioner embo ying a cabinet and means for forming a water spray within the cabinet including a pump and a reservoir, a'

tering the tank downwardly at the top, and a plate angularly disposed across an upper corner of the tank and spaced from the top and positioned 'at the dischargeend of said tube, said plate having openings adjacent the walls of the tank to permit water forced'from the tube to move noiselessly down said walls.

7. An air-conditioner comprising a casing formedwith a multiplicity of vertical passages opening successively at top and bottom into each other to form a continuous connected passageway, means to move air into said passageway at one end and discharge it from the other, a pump and pipe system wholly within the casing to spray water into the top of each vertical passageway, said pump located at one end of the casing, a sloping floor to the casing under all said passages to collect the unevaporated portlons of said spray for return to the pump, and a refrigerating cooling member formed with a multiplicity of fin members resting upon said sloping floor, all said fin members being formed with a cutaway portion adjacent the floor to provide a continuous channel for the water being collected to fiow along.

8. An air-conditioner comprising a cabinet forming a chamber and having a sloping floor and formed with a sump of relatively small volume below the lower end of said floor, a series of connected vertical passages each having as its bottom a portion of said floor, a

of said passages, thence to gravitate to the floor and be conveyed thereby to the sump, means for supplying water to said sump and for controlling such supply so that when the pumping system is in operation the sump will have the water level therein maintained below the dis charge end of said sloping floor, and means for moving air through said passages.

9. An air-conditioner comprising a cabinet forming a chamber and having a sloping floor and formed with a sump of relatively small volume below the lower end of said floor, an elongated passageway having as its bottom a portion of said floor, a unitary refrigerating member extending along the bottom of said passageway close to said floor, a pumping system wholly within the casing for forming a spray of water in the upper parts of said passageway and above said member, to gravitate to and over the refrigerating member and to the floor and be conveyed thereby to the sump, means for supplying water to said sump and for controlling such supply so that when the pumping system is in operation the sump will have the water level therein maintained below the discharge end of said sloping floor, and means for moving air through said passageway.

10. An air-conditioner comprising a cabinet forming a chamber and having a sloping floor and formed with a sump of relatively small volume belowthe lower end of said floor, an elongated passageway having as its bottom a portion of said floor, a refrigerating member extending along the bottom of said passageway close to said floor and comprising a cast body forming a unitary chamber and a multiplicity of fins extending outwardly therefrom and above said sloping floor, a pumping system wholly within the casing for forming a spray of water in the upper parts of said passageway and above said member to gravitate to and over the refrigerating member to the floor and be conveyed thereby to the sump, means for supplying water to said stunp and for controlling such supply so that when the pumping system is in operation the sump will have the water level therein maintained below the discharge end of said sloping "floor, and means for moving air through said passageway.

11. An air-conditioner comprising a cabinet and to the sloping floor, a heat-conveying liquid and an extended length of tubing in said liquid sealed within the chamber of therefrigerating member, a compressor havinginlet and outlet connection with said tubing for supplying refrigerating fluid thereto, and means for moving air through said passageway.

12. An air-conditioner comprising a cabinet with a floor wall, an elongated passageway therein having as its bottom a continuous sloping floor spaced from the floor of the cabinet, means for delivering a spray of water in the upper parts of said passageway to gravitate to said sloping floor and be discharged therefrom 76 into a collecting'sump, means close to said floor for cooling said water, a passageway atthe rear of said first-named passageway communicating with the space under the sloping floor, means for causing air to enter the "cabinet ,at its top and to move through said first-named passageway from the front to said rear passageway and into the space below the sloping floor, and a series of openings from said space for distributing said air along the floor of the room.

, '13. An air-conditioner comprising a cabinet with a floor wall, an elongated passageway therein having as its bottom a continuous sloping floor spaced from the floor of the cabinet, means for delivering a spray of water in the upper parts of said passageway to gravitate to said sloping floor and be discharged therefrom into a collecting sump, means close to said floor for cooling said water, a passageway at the rear of said, first-named passageway com municating with the space under the sloping fioor,. means for causingair to enter the cabinet at its top and toomove through said first-named passageway from the front to said rear passageway and into the space below the sloping floor,

high spray chamber occupying part of the spacewithin said cabinet and formed with a bottom wall, means-in the cabinet to move air to and through said chamber and thereafter to dis-' charge it from the cabinet, means in the cabinet to circulate water therein and form a spray filling said spray chamber and descending to the bottom thereof, and a refrigerating member extending along the length of said bottom wall and adapted to be engaged by and to cool substantially all of said water so circulated, said refrigerating member comprising a hollow cast body with a multiplicity of surrounding fins resting upon said bottom wall and having means forming a continuous passageway for carrying the refrigerating fluid sealed within the chamber in said body. I p

' t FRANK A; WHITELEY. 

